H.S. BOYS SOCCER PLAYOFFS: Brockton cruises past King Philip

Top-seeded Brockton used its speed and skill to beat No. 8 King Philip, 6-1, in a Division 1 South Sectional quarterfinal on Monday night.

Scott Roche, ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT

BROCKTON – Speed and skill is a tough combination to match in soccer, and the King Philip High boys soccer team discovered that on Monday night at Marciano Stadium.

Top-seeded Brockton used its speed and skill to beat the eighth-seeded Warriors, 6-1, in a Division 1 South Sectional quarterfinal.

Brockton (17-1-2) will play host to fourth-seeded Silver Lake (15-3-3) in a semifinal on Wednesday at 5:15 p.m.

“We have a lot kids with good skill,’’ Brockton coach Herminio Furtado said. “This group of kids loves to play with each other and they love assisting each other and can’t wait to get on the field together.

“The way we play, we wear teams down and at the end of the game they’re exhausted. We put a lot of pressure on the other team and we are patient and wait for things to come to us.’’

The Boxers were patient in the first half and the patience paid off with the game’s first goal in the 33rd minute.

Edson Lopes stole the ball from King Philip’s defense at midfield and dribbled through two defenders before sending a thru pass to Leonardo Teixeira, who made a move and ripped a shot along the ground inside the left post for a 1-0 lead.

Lopes gave the Boxers a 2-0 lead 42 seconds into the second half. King Philip keeper Nicholas Beltramini (14 saves) made a diving save, but Lopes was there to blast the rebound under the crossbar.

Lopes scored his second goal of the second half in the 49th minute. Erick Brito beat his defender down the left sideline and sent a cross that Lopes headed home for a 3-0 lead.

“Edson hasn’t had the season that he would like to have so far,’’ said Furtado. “He’s a junior now that started as a sophomore and he’s really stepped up his game scoring goals in the tournament. He’s scored goals in both tournament games so far.’’

Five minutes later, Brockton’s Junior Gomes headed home a Odair Monterio corner kick, and three minutes later Mario Mendoza buried the rebound of a Monterio shot for a 5-0 Brockton lead.

“We know that when we score first, teams have to commit forward and that opens up space for us,’’ said Furtado. “We have speed that can take advantage of those opportunities and we also can build up to that with our skill.’’

Jonathan Rodrigues scored the final Brockton goal in the 65th minute on a penalty shot.

King Philip (11-8-2) avoided the shutout with eight minutes left in the game when Tony Bozza took a pass from Evan McEvoy and blasted a shot under the crossbar.